Actinidia Arguta— Characteristics Relevant to Commercial Production

Abstract

Six cultivars of Actinidia arguta(Sieb. etZucc.) Planch, ex Miq. were grown in south coastal British Columbia and evaluated for yield fruit development and quality characteristics. Over four years, the average flowering date was May 28, about six weeks after the average last spring frost. ‘Issai’ and ‘Ananasnaya’ were regarded as ‘late maturing’, attaining their peak on-vine sugar content at the end of October, while ‘Geneva’, ‘National Arboretum’, ‘Dumbarton Oaks’, and ‘74-75’ attained their peak sugar content one month earlier. All cultivars yielded over 15 kg per vine (five year vines), except for ‘National Arboretum’ which only yielded 6.9 kg. ‘Geneva’, ‘Dumbarton Oaks’, and ‘74-55’ had the largest fruit sizes (7.7 g, 7.6 g, and 7.9 g, respectively). ‘Issai’ had a very high vitamin C content (155 mg/100 g). ‘Geneva’, ‘Ananasnaya’, and ‘Dumbarton Oaks’ were generally preferred by a panel who evaluated flavour and appearance.